Darth Shadow
Darth Shadow, born Jeridan Shesh was born on Kuat in 8 BBY. He was then raised on Alderaan after his family was murdered. He was finally tracked down by Darth Saber and told of the Kroprulan Sith Empire, which he joined, and quickly rose to prominence, going on to become the Grand Vizier History Beginnings Jeridan Shesh was born into a royal merchant house on the temperate world of Kuat. His family was murdered by a rival clan and his estates seized. The House Organa on Alderaan granted asylum to the young Jeridan who was on holiday with cousins on Coruscant. He was raised from the age of nine on Alderaan as a member of the royal court of House Organa. Discontent quickly set in, but action took time. When he was sixteen, he stole a ship he rechristened the Shadow Trap and made his way again to Coruscant. His stay at the Kuati embassy was a disaster and an assassination attempt left him forever scarred. He avenged the death of his family on those assembled in the embassy that were in the pay of the murderous clan who displaced his future. Jeridan found himself in the underbelly of Coruscant’s darkest underworld. The young, once-idealistic face of a teenager had vanished completely and Jeridan actively sought violence. There was nothing on the ecumenopolis that interested Jeridan. He lay dormant for several months in the dark corners of the planet and continued to receive mutilations that would forever leave him damaged. He found himself lamenting the fact that none had been fatal. Discovery When his prayers for death went unanswered, Jeridan chose to leave Coruscant. For two years he went from planet to planet, doing whatever had to be done to survive. Unsolved murders, robberies and destruction were a hallmark of the traveling anger now unleashed on the universe. When he was eighteen and nearing the end of his rampages, Jeridan was captured by the security forces on Corellia for plotting the suicidal demise of a visiting diplomat from Kuat. He was held for interrogation for several hours by lowly officers before the mastermind behind his capture, which had seemingly been impossible on other worlds, came forward to reveal herself. She called herself Saber. She was a Sith Master of the Kroprulan Sith Empire which currently was laying waste to the Outer Rim, throwing the Galactic Empire into chaos. She spoke with Jeridan for several hours about the Empire and what his place in it could one day be. Saber offered to free him on the condition she accompany him to the capital world Kroprulu and learn more. He agreed to travel with the Master and they left Corellia on the Shadow Trap and made their way from the Core for the first time in Jeridan’s life. Training On Kroprulu, Jeridan was amazed at the beauty of the seemingly Dark Side-rich world. He spent several hours in the Sith Temple reading and reviewing ancient Sith Holocrons that had previously been known to him on in myths. The Dark Side. The Sith. Jeridan had only known Jedi in his time on Kuat and Alderaan. His parents had even refused to give him to the Order, for they wanted an heir to rule their planet after they were gone. So dreams did die, Jeridan concluded. A new opportunity was his. He could become a tool of the Force without serving the closed-minded Jedi. He found it impossible as the Sith Council discussed his fate and the reasons he was brought by the generous Master Saber. Days passed with still no word, yet Sith adepts and learners gave Jeridan hope that some day he would join them in study. He already was quite practiced with fencing with metal blades. Jeridan looked forward to the power of a lightsaber. Tutelage His fate was decided, Saber would train him. Due to his history, Jeridan forevermore assumed the name Shadow and forsook his Kuati name in favor of the Sith name Oblivion. The training, though sometimes difficult, could not have gone better for Shadow. He completed in seven years what took some fourteen. He had become a Sith Master and was now an equal to his Sith mentor, despite his feeling that it there would come a time when it were not so. Mastery Shadow consulted a Dathmori on these visions, his name being Scourge. Scourge was kind in his counsel and encouraged the exploration of this unique ability. For the next six years, Shadow spent his time in meditation and study, learning vast amounts of Sith lore and Jedi tales. He had chance after chance to take an Apprentice, but refused all offers in favor of lonely isolation. Though he was grateful to his teachers and friends, Shadow knew that the Dark Side was a mere fragment of the Force. There was so much more to learn. He petitioned the Council to grant him a leap of absence as he traveled the galaxy to study other Force-using groups. Shadow had learned much in his years of training and meditation, but not enough to suit his wants. He traveled and learned of the White Current, the Dathmori Nightsister rites, Dai Bendu and the history of the Sorcerers of Tund. Far Outsiders It had taken Shadow a grand total of eight years to learn the secrets of the Force enough to satisfy him. When he returned to Kroprulu with several journals filled with his knowledge, he was surprised to find the warrior race that was devastating other parts of the universe on the doorstep of the Empire. The Yuuzhan Vong had been attacking border-worlds of the Empire. And in the middle of it all, Saber’s second Apprentice had defected to the Jedi Order. Two years later, the transcription of his knowledge into the Holocrons had been completed and the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the Empire foiled. It was a splendid time for the Empire. Scourge had become Lord Scourge and Chick now ruled the Empire as Empress, Shadow felt she was strong but not strong enough. He bolstered the feelings of failure he felt for Chick long enough to accept the promotion from the Council to the Sith Church, which had been left leaderless following the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. Revival of the Church The Prophets of the Dark Side would be given a new home in the Sith Empire- a space station which Shadow allocated himself funds enough to construct, which he would then name Scardia as a testament to their ties to the Church under the reign of Kaddan and Darth Sidious. For the next five years, the prophetic visions of the Prophets helped guide the Empire under the wise rule of Supreme Prophetess Saber and High Prophet Shadow. A New Power In his long periods of isolation on Space Station Scardia, the High Prophet learned the difficult power of Force Feat which had from that point on allowed him to manipulate the very molecules of his body to produce chemical compounds that created poisons or antidotes. It had benefited Shadow in the removal of several enemies in the course of his duties with the Church. In 32 ABY, Saber joined the Council of Sith Lords and Ladies with Grand Inquisitor Actir who would both speak for their respective Orders. Saber left the space station in favor of the Temple on Kroprulu where she could be closer to the Council. It had given Shadow even more time to master the subtle arts of the Force, such as lightsaber combat, Force powers, etc. War With Dude In 39 ABY, Darth Dude revealed himself and his Empire, blockading trade routes, and throwing the Sith Empire into disrepair. Shadow remained hidden, remaining beyond the outskirts of the Sith Empire, on Scardia, where he could view the unfolding conflict. Battle for Kroprulu In 49 ABY, following a terrible vision on the part of Shadow, he found himself leaving Space Station Scardia for the first time in seventeen years. Kroprulu itself was under attack - even if they did not know it yet. He made his way to the Palace’s Throne Room and felt Chick dueling the rival Emperor Dude of Byss. He was too late to prevent the flight of the Empress but secretly felt no remorse for he had already sealed in prophecy the outcome of Chick’s leave. Shadow pursued Dude to his ship where Sith Alchemist Ducki and Warrior Vexen had already executed the crew. Dude used a rare Force power that Shadow was able to protect the three of them against only due to his power of Farsight. The Battle for Kroprulu was finished, Chick gone, and the Kroprulan Sith Empire forced into retreat for the first time in its existence. In the aftermath of the realization that Chick no longer ruled the Empire, the Council made a swift decision and named his former Master the new Empress of the Empire. She was the first non-Zavier Empress in the history of the Empire. A mere five days later, the coronation of Saber took place and the elevation of Shadow to Supreme Prophet and Lord and Council Member took place alongside the ascension of Commander Minious to Darkest Knight. New Leadership From that day on, the Empire flourished under the leadership of Saber. Shadow took a brief holiday from his new duties as Lord to return to Space Station Scardia to ennoble Divious as High Prophet and welcome a new addition - Blight, who assumed the name Qel’Vos - into the Church. When he left the Space Station, Shadow is rumored to have reported sealing a vision that that would be the last time he would ever see the home of the Prophets. The accuracy of that vision has yet to be proven or disputed. Shadow assumed command of the Church from Kroprulu and began his duties as Lord. He kept his duties in the Hall of Dark Patronage, which were now far easier as he was actually on the planet where the Hall was located. With Prophet Qel’Vos, the Diplomatic Corps was born. Saber appointed Shadow her Grand Vizier and primary advisor. The days he spent working to better the Empire had proven to be far better than the life he imagined for himself if his family had been left alive. Escalation Leaving the Empire in its direst time of need, Shadow travelled to the Chiss Ascendancy where he took an Apprentice, whom he trained for nearly the remainder of the war, returning only at the climax to fight at the Battle of Reldar Prime. In the aftermath of the Darth Dude Conflict, Shadow retired from active duty, chosing to while away his days on Kuat, his original home, until his death in 75 ABY. Behind the Scenes *Darth Shadow is perhaps one of the most controversial members of the Rebels forum, having wreacked havoc on both it and its former-sister site TDSL (the schism being directly co-ordinated by Shadow himself). Category:Articles by aeods S S S